Service is Happiness

In life we all search for happiness. We might not even comprehend what a state of happiness really is. We taste it at times for short moments and this makes us keep looking for it and live our lives pursuing that thing we call happiness. In this search we often find that helping, serving, and caring for others leaves us in a really good state.

We may ask ourselves why this is, why serving others makes us feel complete. It feels like our lives have a purpose, a connection with something bigger than ourselves. Maybe it is because serving others gives us a reflection of what we have inside. When you have given your time and resources to hold a situation you learn humility. You can see the divinity in action through you. Serving others teaches us that everything is perfect as it is. In service it becomes easier to lose the control we think we have and surrender to what is.

For over ten years I have worked with children living on the street—especially young girls in very dangerous and hopeless situations. After all this time we have become a family. Many have died in the process; many have gone away. The challenges continue for them but we have gone through it together. We learn from each other every step of the way and so it has been a blessing for me.

One value we share as Sikhs and yogis is service, as a key element of spiritual growth to reach happiness. Our Kundalini Yoga students participate in the effort to embrace this value. In every Kundalini/Sikh Dharma community In South America seva is taken very seriously. You can feel it everywhere.

In Chile, for example, there is an institutionalized structure to provide food for poor people and to provide aid in situations of extreme events. The program is Langar Chile. Communities in Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina serve food to poor areas once a week or once a month, depending on the community’s abilities. There are also free yoga classes in jails for women and men. There is a whole movement led by the Women of Light Foundation from Chile to China to reach the souls of women to be healed and be elevated.

The spirit that embodied our Sikh Gurus long ago is still alive in the heart of our global community, and continues to inspire young people to become real human beings through service. We consider service to be a duty and a blessing. It is a key element of our lifestyle which, among many other things, makes us very happy. There is so much to do, so many people to serve and so much happiness to feel. Let’s keep up and we will be kept up by God and Guru!